You have encountered a Smiling Swamp Parent! Mini-Boss Rules:
Only trolls whose rolls contributed to 'summoning' this mini-boss may fight it. This is a mini-boss! Unlike regular boss battles, the mule will not be posting new rounds, and players can simply post as fast and often as they want, taking turns to attack one at a time. Players who have trinkets or abilities may also post to use one directly after posting their attack, giving them a maximum of two turns for that round. When each troll in the fight has had a turn to attack the mini-boss once and use one power/trinket, a new round begins. At each new round roll the standard 2d6 and use the table below to see what damage you've taken. As always, the first number is what you should check for your damage, and the second is the amount done to the mini-boss. Once the mini-boss or all players fighting it reach 0hp, this can be counted by all trolls participating as a battle rp for growth. If you have any questions, please PM the mule!
PARENT STARTING HP: 120
The Dark Swamp has sent you through many challenges, but none quite this toothy. As you step on a particularly enormous (and oddly pale) white log, something doesn't feel quite right. It requires the reflexes of an acrobat not to tip over and fall into the water as a watery groan sounds from the depths... And soon, you realize that the swamp's muddy paths and perilous crossings pale in comparison to the enormous white monster that lunges from the water right in front of your sniffnode! The ferocious beast is looking for a troll-sized snack to bring back to her clutch, and you're on the menu tonight. She wastes no time. She snarls and sets upon your group with a smile.
If you rolled a 1, your limb is tragically caught in the enormous jaws of the Smiling Swamp Parent. If you have paid attention to Alternian Nature Reality Programming, you know what's coming next: a Death Roll. The creature twists her full body around in a barrel-roll powerful enough to cause an immense wave to come crashing down on your companions and bring you (hopefully with limbs intact) with her. Take 4 dmg and deal no damage.
If you rolled a 2, a thick whip from the Swamp Parent's huge tail sends you straight into the swampy waters. The wind is knocked out of you and your vision swims before you realize that you're actually underwater. She plants herself on top of you with her mighty girth before you're barely able to escape. Take 3 dmg.
If you rolled a 3, thrashing and splashing makes everything incredibly difficult to see. You are caught in the jaws of the Swamp Parent and struggle to escape. Climbing out of her teeth is a deadly event, and you end up more carved up after the fact than when she first chomped you. Take 2 dmg.
If you rolled a 4, your attempts to find solid ground are in vain as ground is knocked loose and mud is slung all around you with the flailing of the creature. A piece of debris knocks you into the water and you find yourself pierced by a sharp set of claws that meet you there. Take 1 dmg.
If you rolled a 5, the Swamp Parent delivers a love-bite and is then distracted by one of your other party members. It's a simple nibble, of course... But it's also a nibble coming from a predator with a troll-sized maw full of razor teeth. Take 1 dmg.
If you rolled a 6, you manage to find higher ground and position yourself on a low-hanging branch. It's a good place to strike, even though it's risky. With your adrenaline boosted, you launch onto the blindspot of the beast and land a solid hit! Take no dmg.
When the mini-boss or all trolls have reached 0hp, please look in the spoiler below.
Mini-Boss at 0
The beast begins to thrash about with even more abandon! Are you doomed to a toothy grave? It seems not, as after a final wild splashing, she blinks once or twice, smiles at you again, then with a ripple and a splash, turns and lowers herself back into the deep water, vanishing below the surface. As she swims away, you notice a jumble of moss-covered bones surrounding you. It seems this was her lair, and you were the uninvited guest.
Do not continue to roll 2d4s in the ORP - you may only win against each boss once. Each player can now roll 1d100 in their next post. If you get a multiple of 3, your troll notices the glimmer of a 3 use novice trinket, hanging from the ragged clothes of a waterlogged skeleton. If you get a multiple of 5, your troll notices the glimmer of a 3 use adept trinket, hanging from the ragged clothes of a waterlogged skeleton. If you get a 'double number' 11, 22 etc, your troll notices the glimmer of a 3 use expert trinket, hanging from the ragged clothes of a waterlogged skeleton.
The 'double number' overrides multiples of 5 or 3, and the multiple of 5 overrides the multiple of 3. Always take the larger prize.
Players at 0
You can understand now exactly why no sane troll lives here. As you turn tail and run through the sucking, clawing muddy water, you can hear the smiling swampbeast swimming easily along behind you. You're not sure if turning to look would be the dumbest, or second dumbest thing you'd ever do at this point. As you run, blindly hurrying away from the danger, your foot comes down heavily on a second enormous white log. Whoops. The new smiling swampbeast rears up in the water, sending you flying far forward into the bushes, and as luck would have it, on to some solid ground. Behind you, by the sound of it, your original assailant has been interrupted by the arrival of a second of her species. You thank your lucky stars, and leave them both behind in your dust.
Swamp life wasn’t that bad, Rasali told herself. She told herself that a lot, actually. Kind of like a mantra. Or an attempt at self-hypnosis. It helped that she was regularly supplied with jobs to do to help keep her mind off of the “wanted fugitive” thing. Border patrol just so happened to be one of those jobs. It seemed easy enough considering the village had managed to go unfound for who knew how many sweeps before the rebels had stumbled upon it. The chances of encountering a battalion of imperial guardstrolls seemed rather slim.
Not to mention, Rasali was accompanied by her fellow swamp-wading compatriots, Aerona, Luxara, and Forera. The four of them had done marvelously the last time they were fighting for their lives in the mud, so a routine perimeter check seemed like just the task for the four of them.
”I feel like we should have our own cheer or something. Y’know? Like the sports teams or gladiaterrors. Something like ‘One, two, three, four! Um… We’re gonna punch you in the buns!’ Or something to that effect. But more rhymey.”
Rasali twirled and untwirled her chain in a wide arc. It was an act of boredom, but it seemed to do a good job of mincing the bothersome foliage blocking the path.
”I don’t suppose any of you guys do slam poetry in your downtime.”
The grass and roots gave way to a flat expanse of water, freckled with wide trees, fallen logs, and goopy piles of moss. Rasali grimaced and hopped onto the nearest island of dryness—an old log—so as to not get more damp and leech-bitten than necessary. From there she jumped to the nearest stump, then another log, then-
GRROOAANNNNN
Rasali less dodged the beast, more so than was flung to the side as the immense alligator attempted to roll over beneath her. Rasali splashed down. Instinct forced her to move to shallower ground, but the gator was faster. Rasali yelped as sharp teeth nicked her leg. At least it gave her something to swing at.
Being reunited with the War Babes was bitter sweet. Working around the Outpost with them was one thing... Forera had been a total bimbo, Luxara had the emotional stability of someone whose trusted confident had attempted to murder literally everyone, and Rasali... Well, Rasali was keeping things together. She finally brought her pop to the swamp, which is something Aerona hadn't garnered up the autoerogenous shame globes to do. If there was anything nice about the tense rebel move in, it was the occasional walks around the patrol. Fighting wingbeasts, cutting down plants... Manual labor and blowing stuff up.
Tonight was pretty uneventful, until...
"Holy crap!" Aerona screamed as the huge wave of gator flashed into view. "Rasali, oh my gog!"
She whipped out of the way, but not before the swamp parent had her in her sights. She light up two bombs in each hand, and feeling teeth scrape against her exoskeleton threw each behind her into the gaping maw. The result of the explosion told her at least one of them had hit -- and with huge success. Aerona scrambled to try and find higher ground, boots sticking in the muck.
All things considered, living out here was pretty great. Luxara was surrounded by people who weren't dead or dying. Sure, she got along with some better than others, and she had nearly died herself getting here; some relationships weren't doing too hot, either. But there had been surprises. In circumstances, and with some she was getting to know. It was like her life had flipped a switch, and she was making the best of it, and she felt super lucky that there was enough to make a forced hermit life worth it.
Granted, the word 'forced' was a rather loose term. It was Luxara and all.
And she was on speaking terms with trolls who hadn't been too happy with her when they first found the Outpost; that was also a bonus. She was certainly down to patch things up, or at least make the effort of being around them and try to add some good cheer.
"War babes! War babes! Something something....aww s**t, does anything even rhyme with that?"
Luxara hesitated. She heard a sound, something like life. But not a Stagdad noise, although she knew he was around, glaring at her somewhere from afar since he had gotten all protective after her string of, uh, bad fortune most times she left the forest without him.
"s**t!" She stepped back right before Rasali shouted. "Ras!" Luxara pulled down her crossbow and took a shot, distracting the gator from hurting Rasali further. Instead, it attacked her and Aerona. "Hey, watch it!" she snapped as it bit her. Luxara struggled and pulled away, then was fortunate enough to get another one in. Her new eyepiece was so helpful with lining up shots!
"Hey, Aer! Some warning before you start tossing bombs would be greatly appreciated!" Especially considering the last time she had dealt with explosives, it was in the most dire scenario imaginable.
While Forera wasn't exactly brooding persay, she was feeling just a little under the weather when the War Babes were assigned to patrol the perimeter of the swamp. Of the War Babes, Aerona probably disliked her heavily and Luxara was... Luxara. She was mainly avoiding interaction with the other-- She could hang out as much as she wanted with Anguis, whatever. They could burn with the zombies for all she cared. Rasali was the only one she felt even slightly comfortable with, but hey, just the feeling of being uncomfortable was starting to become normal to her. She needed to deal with it. At some point in her time here, Forera managed to head back to her hive in NHC for one last time and take what little was left in there. She missed it. The hustle and bustle, the diverse amount of trolls, no pressure to behave... Living in the swamp was proving to be very uncomfortable. But hey, last time the team was together, they'd done pretty well. She'd only agreed because they were strong together. They could all help.
Forera swatted at the nearest bug, both arms crossing defensively over her front as the cold metal of her gauntlets lay on her skin, dully listening to the others talk eagerly. Her usual vigor and enthusiasm was nowhere to be found, only an uninterested frown pulling on her lips. She trailed along nearby, hands squeezing her arms uncomfortably. Her mouth was itching to fall into her habit of babbling about the topic, but she steeled herself, playing with the piercing on her tongue and fiddling with the ring on her finger. She missed Vulpin. Forera bit the inside of her mouth longingly.
A sudden loud groan made the tealblooded troll's head whip up, eyes searching for the source almost immediately. While the other girls were geting hit, Forera jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a hit. She climbed the tree easily, readying her stance, and with a loud battle growl the tealblood slammed her fists into its face. Rushing away from the monster, she clanked her armored fists together in silent challenge, feeling adrenaline begin to pump her veins. [iThis was the reason she felt so dull, empty. She missed fighting...
HP: 20 - 0 =20 HP Novice Offensive Style B Trinket (2) Adept Agility Style B Artifact (2)
Luckily for Rasali, the other girls were on the swampbeast in a flash. Rasali didn’t have time to spend attacking her opponent while she was floundering about underwater in prime biting territory.
Speak of the scaly devil. Rasali saw a flash of white and snatched her limbs inward. She kept all her extremities, but wasn’t so fast as to avoid the sharp teeth entirely. Moss-green blood was invisible in the murky swamp water, but Rasali felt the pain all the same. At least she knew where the beast was now, and gave it a sock in the nose, just on principle.
"s**t!" Once again, she found herself in the croc's mouth. Aerona hissed and lit up two more explosives, to huge effect. This was working... This was working! A splash of gator blood splattered to her satisfaction, making the loss of her own seem less of a monstrous issue. She hit the water hard and rolled out of the way, slipping down an embankment. The fall was more than she expected. A small shock zipped through her legs.
First shots went well. Okay... Okay. She re-calibrated, moved to take a shot. Tripped.
"s**t!" Luxara squealed, going down. She had little time before the swampbeast came upon her in her prone position. She only heard splashing around her, and then...white.
Not blinding white, from pain or being knocked out. Something was in front of her.
"Stagdad! No!"
The swampbeast chomped onto her lusus, who thrashed in response, trying to find an opening to hit the thing. With a stomp, he got enough leeway to escape, although bleeding.
The moment the Swamp Parent came near her, the tealblood tried to dart away with her agility, biting her bottom lip quickly. While she'd managed to bite the artifact in time, the Swamp Beast still held her between their clenched teeth, making the bites she'd done rough and hard. By the time she'd struggled out of the sharp cave of doom, Forera was filled with large scratches and rough areas, eyes wide and adrenaline pumping.
HP: 20 - 2= 18 HP Novice Offensive Style B Trinket (2) Adept Agility Style B Artifact (1)
Rasali splashed to the surface, coughing and flailing. Her long hair stuck to her face and splayed out like a particularly bedraggled mermaid. She couldn’t see through the mess, and her weapon was tangled and heavy as she struggled to tread water despite the nearby thrashing.
Rasali flung her hair out of her eyes just in time to register what danger she was in. The swampbeast had breached the water before her, trained on her raised arm. Rasali felt herself begin to sink as her whole body froze.
With a speed she’d never before witnessed in her lusus, Kappadad burst from the water. He rammed the swampbeast in the side of the head, throwing it off course. Rasali had never truly seen her lusus in his element before. He’d always just been sitting stock still in the springs back home. Here in the thick mud and water his broad tail and cumbersome flippers made him graceful.
Kappadad shoved and snapped at the swampbeast as Rasali made for higher ground. Finally, the swampbeast had had enough and caught Kappadad between its teeth. There was a solid snap and a shrill grinding, but Kappadad’s shell wouldn’t give. With a few solid smacks of his tail, Kappadad was freed and disappeared once again beneath the surface.
Aerona whipped her head up in time to see the lusii take a hit. Part of her pined for her own lusus, while another was glad she didn't have to suffer through this nasty fight. "Be careful!" She yelled at her companions. Things were turning out for the worse. Aerona switched to an explosive meant to disorient and lit it. When she tossed it, it immediately began spewing smoke this way and that - stymied slightly by the wetness of the swamp. At least it was something.
"Stagdad, are you okay?" She hadn't seen him hurt like this in a long time. Everyone was having a hard time. "If anyone needs aid, I can-"
Why was she still talking? Luxara could only wonder after the thing came back and made up for the antlerbeast's interference. She screamed in pain; the creature had locked onto her, using her like a ragdoll. Her coat was getting torn up the sleeves, not to mention the range of injuries on her person.
She cussed and cussed and cussed as she tried to get out, and after that, a wide berth.
Hurrying to try and attack the Smiling Swamp Parent was quite deadly-- especially after she found out about it's ultimate move through rather... unfortunate means. Which were, uh, being the victim. Her robot arm was caught in the snapping jaws of the parent, and all at once, the beast twisted her arm violently, a scream ripping the throat of the tealblooded female as pain shot up her entire body. By the end of it, Forera was left in a partially shocked state. Holy ******** wanted to do that. So cool...!
HP: 18 - 4 = 14 HP Novice Offensive Style B Trinket (2) Adept Agility Style B Artifact (0)
Oh no… Rasali had to give the swampbeast credit. That thing had nerves of steel. Without a moment’s hesitation the creature rounded on Rasali’s teammates and made a solid loop back to her. Wherever her lusus had swum off to, he too had clearly underestimated the beast. Rasali was already in trouble again.
The silty mud had sucked Rasali’s legs down, impeding her movement significantly. Rasali prepared herself to take the blow as much as she could. She swung her fist up with as much momentum as she could muster in such a short amount of time.
She bopped the swampbeast on its nose. Rasali and the swampbeast gave each other similar looks of surprise as the animal was startled into a halt.
”Oh… Oops. Muh… My bad…” Rasali looked up at the toothy maw, offending hand still held up in a shaky fist.
Aerona backed off from her own explosive and looked with awe and horror at what she saw before her. Seeing Rasali get an opening was at least a start, and it shocked Aerona back into action. "Heads up, y'all!" She called. The redblood lobbed a thick grenade onto the back of the gator, where it exploded on impact.
Well, that was a way to get her attention. Aerona shrieked, having garnered the beast's attention yet again. She splashed through the muck and found her back raked up with toothmarks and her front nicked with thorns.
